Calgary Flames: Former notable fourth-round picks
By Ramina Shlah
Number Three: C Marty Murray, 1993
Yet another centerman. The Calgary Flames just love taking those centres in the fourth round, hey? Marty Murray was taken in the fourth round at the 96th overall pick by the Calgary Flames in the 1993 NHL Draft. Although he had some impressive numbers prior to the draft, 94 points in 67 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, he wasn’t the biggest guy on the ice, and that could be why he wasn’t taken until the fourth round.
Murray continued to improve with the Wheat Kings, and in 1994-95, put up a whopping 88 assists and 128 points in 65 games. He had 29 points in 18 games in the playoffs that year. He was named WHL’s player of the year and led the league in assists.
That year and the year before, he played for Team Canada at the World Juniors. He won gold medals both years. In 95, he put up nine assists and 15 points in seven games at the tournament, which led all skaters. As a result, he was named the best forward at the tournament.
The following season for 1995-96, he upgraded and played for the Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliate, the Saint John Flames. He also made his NHL debut for the Flames that season, but played in just 15 games for them where he had three goals and six points. With Saint John, he put up 56 points in 58 games.
Unfortunately, Murray never found that much success at the NHL level. Not like he had in his junior days. Although he put up a decent number of points in the AHL, he never got his big break with the Flames. He left to go play in Europe for two years but returned to the Flames in 2000. After a season with them and Saint John, he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Murray went on to play for a few more NHL teams and finished his playing career with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL before being loaned to the Milwaukee Admirals.
In 2011, he became the head coach of the Minot Minotaurs of the NAHL, which is the coolest team name. The last two seasons, he has served as GM and head coach of the Minotaurs.